The Belgiums don't like modified cars one bit... I believe its illegal to change engine types their (eg put a turbo engine into what used to be non turbo when registered). Did I say red tape or what ?
Paul
Paul
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Paul Nugent
Webmaster http://S2central.net
Administrator http://S2forum.com
1994 S2 Coupe ABY - aka Project Lazarus
2001 A6 allroad 2.5TDi - family tank
2003 S4 Avant 4.2 V8 - daily burble
Purveyor of HomeFries and Exclusive agent for Samco hose kits (S2/RS2)
There are only 10 kinds of people that understand binary - those that do, and those that don't
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I knew you would get it
and consider the liliesLOL - Glad somebody spotted were I was goin with that Belgian taunt... I'll set them up, you hit them For the uneducated, go watch Life of Brian and you'll get the plot.
Romani Ecce Domum !
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No it's a written statement from the importer that the veh you're importing was identical, when new, to the same vehicles sold new in Belgium. Best way to find out is to call them. If you don't speak french, PM me and I'll call them for you.
Regarding your mods, you might have issues when passing "Technical Control", the Belgian MOT which is pretty strict.
Do you have "Porsche" written on your calipers ? Do you still have the stock exhaust ?Midnight Blue S2 - SOLD - 1993 S2 AvantComment
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Midnight Blue S2 - SOLD - 1993 S2 AvantComment
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[QUOTE=S2central.net;293216(eg put a turbo engine into what used to be non turbo when registered). Did I say red tape or what ?
Paul[/QUOTE]
In all honesty Paul, I believe that is a sensible policy because you're modifying a part of the vehicles security. The rest of the veh isn't maybe designed to cope with the extra power... What if the modified engine mounts shear off whilst hard acceleration on the highway and the car spins out of control because this has jammed one of the driveshafts and this also involves other innocent bystanding ( bydriving I would think would be more correct ) and then a truck runs down a family hatchback with three kids in it... The driver and road-governing authorities should be held liable in this case as they let such a veh be roadlegal shouldn't they ? The Belgian authorities didn't agree to being found liable for private actions so they decided decades ago that they can only be found liable if the car held a valid "Technical Control" sheet. Thus this is why the "Technical Control" authority used to be so strict regarding modding cars.
Modifying a car's essential components is not something to be taken lightly and must have a government body to sanction it. The Germans have TÜV and that's great. A manufacturer of a bolt-on turbo kit in Germany will have to have his kit fully checked out and tested by the TÜV before he can sell it to the public. It's a great win-win situation and it's a system that should, in my opinion, be accepted throughout Europe road-governing bodies.
In the past, the Belgian authorities chose not to accept a TÜV approved kit on the basis that is was a foreign country homologation entity. This is now slowly changing and the rules are being softened.
British rules for what's legal on their roads is the most lenient in Europe and even though yes, you can fit a turbo engine in a non-turbo car in the UK, what's the government entity that checks that you've done it properly ?
I personally find Belgium's rules of what's legal on the road pretty harsh and unfair but I do go to the Nürburgring quite often and see a lot of "exotic" British vehicles there and I really do wonder sometimes how some homemade soapbox kit car's with 300hp Honda engines, no ABS, no Airbag, no security features whatsoever are deemed roadlegal ? Not because I want to limit the freedom of the owner/driver, as long as he's on race tracks, that's fine with me but when he drives on public roads ( most of the time over the speed limit ) in countries where his veh isn't road legal at all but he still technically has the right to be there as his veh is legally registered in the UK, he still poses a threat to other road users safety.
I know this a controversial topic and I know that Brits are very attached to their liberties but never forget that the liberty of someone has it's limits when it tramples on other people's liberty.Midnight Blue S2 - SOLD - 1993 S2 AvantComment
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A few things to sort out first..
Yes porche is on the calipers. The exhaust is not fully stock - a cheap immitation fitted by a previous owner... I'm guessing this is not good news. I'm off to Belgium next week to visit schools, houses etc. Once I've sorted that out I'll be back here to pick your brains. Work have also offered to help me recoupe losses due to having to sell the car at short notice - As long as I can show its worth more than 500. Any ideas where I could find an official value for an s2?Comment
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Hey what about Gatso? Or was he Dutch?Comment
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Eddy Merckx, world's greatest ever cyclist.
Belgium through and through.
Lance who?
rs2315.sigpicComment
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Definitely going
So it is really on - we've found a great school for the kids... So the ultimate question - how do I disguise my nice porche brakes and silly exhaust?
The brakes are black so they are not very obvious, I have the original 16" rims- will they be pedantic about the word porche?... could I (ahem) go over the white lettering with a felt tip - then rub it out afterwards....?
I don't have a stock exhaust - is this an expensive item? I take it that they would notice the fact that it is not a stock exhaust?Comment
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Arrived with the S2
I've now arrived in Belgium... With the S2. So I now have 3 months in which to import it. Hopefully wont be too bad - will keep you posted with progress (whether hiding the porche brakes with permanent marker works etc...). The drive over was great - no problems and fuel seems to be slightly cheaper over here
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The only good thing that ever came out of Belgium is Mihnea Cotet...
Oh and some mighty good beer is the only saving grace, and chocolate but thats it
So, apart from the beer, the chocolate and everyones favourite custom Motronic programming guru - what have the Belgians done for us ?
Paul
PS - I know he's not originally from Belgium, but thats were he was when this place was born.
Have you forgotten about Jean Claude Van Dam?
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Technical Control Belgium
So I now have my certificate of conformance and some other bits of paperwork - I now need to go to technical control in Belgium.
Does anyone know if my car will be immediately rejected as the lights are still UK spec? I want to find out what I need to do to the car to get it through - to see if I can afford it or not...
Anyone got any good ideas? Anyone know of a knowledgeable garage somewhere in Brabant (I live in Overijse).
Any advice gratefully received!Comment
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Dear ujimaflip,
Are you the guy working for UCB ? A friend of mine asked me some questions about importing a UK licenced S2 to Belgium (with Porsche calipers and so on ...).
If it's the case, nice to meet you here. I was about considering to answer my friend to point you to this forum ...
Have you ever heard about Audi Heritage in Belgium ?
Anyway, welcome, and hope to see your car very soon :-)
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MhComment
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I did not see Stella Artois mentioned yet....
Second RS2315 (Eddy Merckx) ...what about Rik Van Looy, Rik Van Steenbergen (et al)
Jacky IckxComment
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